1930s Kay Kraft Style A 2-Point Archtop Guitar

Overview: Strangely-enough, our shop works on a lot of Kay Kraft instruments of all stripes. This Style A is of the type I see most often -- a 14-fretter with the "adjustable heel" gizmo, classic 2-point shape, and all-ply construction in the body. These guitars are built light and have a long scale length and snappy, aggressive tone so they work extremely well for both country-blues fingerpickers (their main audience) or as gypsy-jazz boxes where their percussive, up-front sound lends itself to the style.

Tone: It's loud, punchy, snappy, and aggressive. These work best when "dug-into" a bit.

Feel: The nut is on the wide side and has a medium-heft neck depth so it's not a feel for everyone. Unlike some of the earlier Kay Kraft necks, though, this one does not have the giant V profile and feels a lot faster. Its back is a C-shape with a hint of soft V to it.

Interesting features: Well, it has an "adjustable heel" gizmo at the neck joint and the neck itself is bolted to the body. When we work on these we "lock" the heel via shims and a second "keeper bolt" that's hidden internally under the big wingnut-tightened bolt. Then we fit an adjustable bridge as-normal for archtop guitars so minor action adjustments can be performed easily. This makes the instrument a lot more stable than if trying to use the adjustable setup "as normal" and is totally reversible.

Repairs included: The neck was "reset" at a good angle, it got a level/dress of the frets, a new rosewood adjustable bridge fit, cleaning, and setup work done. 

• Weight: 3 lbs 15 oz
• Scale length: 25 3/4"
• Nut width: 1 7/8"
• Neck shape: medium C/D
• Board radius: 14"
• Body width: 14 1/4"
• Body depth: 3 3/8"
• Top wood: ply spruce
• Back & sides wood: ply maple
• Bracing type: ladder
• Bridge: rosewood adjustable (new)
• Fretboard: ebonized maple
• Neck wood: poplar
• Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 48w-10 extra lights
• Truss rod: non-adjustable steel
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: lower/smaller

Condition notes: It's actually in pretty dang good health for its age and type. There's weather-checking to the finish throughout and mild scuffs and scratches here and there. The bridge is a replacement but it's otherwise original throughout. There is a filled dryness crack that runs most of the length of the fretboard (it's stable, but a cosmetic defect). The heel cap has a hairline crack across its middle (like all of these do) but is stable. There's a little grunge on the fretboard and it appears that someone put a light coat of finish on the board at some point.

It comes with: Sorry, no case.

Consignor tag: MCH